This invention is related to piezoelectric materials and, more particularly, to a 3-1 phase connected PZT polymer composite for transducer applications and the like.
A widely used piezoelectric transducer is made from solid lead zirconate titanate (PZT) which is a dense (density 7.9 gm/cc) ceramic with high piezoelectric coefficients d.sub.33 and d.sub.31 and a high dielectric permittivity (.epsilon..sub.33). However, solid PZT is a poor transducer material in some respects as coefficients such as piezoelectric voltage coefficients g.sub.33 and g.sub.h are low due to high dielectric permittivity .epsilon..sub.33. The coefficient d.sub.h which is the difference between d.sub.33 and twice d.sub.31 is also low. It is thus desirable to have a material for transducer fabrication which has high values of g.sub.h, d.sub.h. It is further desirable to have a low density material for transducers which are used in an array which is to be towed behind a ship. Furthermore, a low density material for transducer fabrication is also required for good mechanical coupling with seawater. It is thus desirable to have a PZT composite material using an elastomer which will meet the above requirement for a flexible transducer.